Data on air pollution in Shanghai has been published as part of the movement towards greater openness.
Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

Demand for open data in China is gaining traction despite the country’s traditionally closed approach to government. Although there’s no national-level open data initiative, both Chinese citizens and senior leadership are starting to call for greater access to public information.

More countries than ever before are considering the merits of opening up their data – even those that have been described as politically repressive by human rights organisations.

In March, Li Keqiang, China’s premier, said government data should be public wherever possible “unless it is relevant to national security and privacy”. This sounds strangely democratic for a country that has a history of cracking down on human rights activists, raising questions over what government data is considered “relevant” in China.

Jonathan Gray, director of policy and research at Open Knowledge, says it is important to consider the distinctions between “open data” and “open government”. He says opening up existing data sets is just the first step and doesn’t automatically lead to a democratic government: “Publishing open data is of course not sufficient for open governments or open societies. It is just one ingredient in the mix, and no replacement for other vital elements of democratic societies, like robust access to information laws, whistleblower protections and rules to protect freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.”

Gray adds that it’s not just countries such as China that neglect these democratic elements: “Just look at the recent treatment of whistleblowers and leakers, or concerns around the UK government’s proposals for amending FOI [freedom of information] laws.”

A number of groups have sprung up in China to put pressure on the government to increase available data. As well as DJChina (data journalism China) and the UDParty (open data and smart cities) , Open Knowledge China is at the forefront of making open data more widely available.

Feng Gao is one of Open Knowledge China’s ambassadors in Shanghai. With a background in engineering, he’s determined to improve the accessibility of open data in China: “Open data is so important because it’s the key to modern collaboration, especially if multi-stakeholders are involved.”

He says that if huge social issues are being discussed or debated then open data is the best way to bring every party into the conversation. “It gives them the right weapon to investigate the issue, stay on the same page, and then come up with a good solution.”

China is not the only country starting to put pressure on its government to release data sets. According to the Open Data Institute (ODI), open data is a relatively new and largely untapped resource in Russia. It reports that since December 2014, 2,400 datasets have been made accessible by using Russia’s open data portal, which shares information on education, transport and health.

When looking at Russia, it’s vital to consider Gray’s point: that governments choose which data sets to make available so we can’t necessarily conclude that releasing data is a free, democratic move.

However, one organisation – Clearspending – is successfully tracking and visualising government spending in Russia. By monitoring more than 12m contracts and 900,000 vendors, the portal has identified more than 4m procurement violations, big news in a country where there’s a tight grasp on government information.

When the ODI started working with the government of Burkina Faso, the president didn’t have a strong record of openness. The institute’s Liz Carolan explains how a very small and technically able team of civil servants who understood the social value of openness made economic arguments to get the project off the ground: “That same team, like many other civil servants, considered themselves citizens first, and were part of the protests that removed the president from leadership. They are now actively working to support the transition to a full democracy, including using their skills to ensure that the results of the forthcoming election are available openly to as many citizens as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Carolan says that the biggest challenge when trying to get key stakeholders onboard within the government is to help them understand the benefits of open data. “This can often mean making a case about the economic potential. It requires addressing people’s fears with clear messages about what open data is, and what it is not.

“Once you identify who is willing to put their political capital behind an open data initiative, the next challenge is to find the best ways to support them so they can bring about these changes within the system. Open data is primarily a challenge of culture change. Implementing the technology is much easier.”